This is politics but not as we know it.

Up and down the country public meetings are being held where attendees speak candidly, listen respectfully and pay tribute to those with whom they passionately disagree.

The MPs are often, genuinely, undecided on the subject and are more inclined to listen than to impose their views.

When it comes to assisted dying the debate feels different – underpinned by a free vote and informed by deeply personal experiences, much of it playing out in town halls and community centres.

It’s about as far away from the superficial divisions of Westminster politics as it can get.

At a gathering this week in Sandhurst, Berkshire, a young woman described her mother, who is in her 60s – a once fun, kind and energetic woman who after years fighting cancer is now fading before her eyes.

She told the silent room she feels powerless to help and broke down in tears as she appealed to Labour MP Peter Swallow to back a change in the law.

As she struggled to tell her story a man sitting in the row in front got up and put his arm around her.

He later told the meeting he was against the legislation, concerned it could make older people feel obligated to die.

He believed his own father had felt like a burden in his final years. The woman who he had supported reached out and took his hand as he spoke.

Others talked about their faith with quiet but compelling conviction, and many raised concerns about pressure on patients and doctors.

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‘I’m looking to my own conscience’

Mr Swallow, the newly elected MP for Bracknell who held the meeting, described the process of coming to a conclusion on a matter of conscience.

“This is one of the parts of my decision-making,” he said.

“I’ve also been speaking to medical experts, looking over contributions from people who work in the palliative care sector, and I have been reading the select committee report from the last parliament on this issue.

“I’ve read line by line through the Bill as well… and of course, I’m looking to my own conscience, looking to my own experience with death and weighing up all of those issues.

“I’ll be listening to the debate in Parliament as well and using that to really finally decide how I’m going to cast my vote.”

He is one of hundreds of MPs who have spent the past few weeks weighing all the arguments and may even wait until the day to decide, making the result of the second reading vote on Friday as unpredictable as it is consequential.

Decision ‘about shortening some quite horrible deaths’

The feeling among its supporters is that the shift in public opinion in favour of assisted dying will be reflected in parliament, and in particular among the vast new cohort of mostly Labour MPs.

A leading voice among them is Dr Jeevun Sandher, who has been making the case to colleagues and offering public backing to the Bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater.

He said: “We should be clear that 70 people die every single day… for whom palliative care cannot allay their pain. They have built a tolerance to opioids. They’re allergic to them. You can’t just pump them full of morphine.

“So for those towards the end of their life, for me, the choice is quite clear.

“What we should be doing is hope to alleviate suffering in accordance with their wishes in a safe, responsible manner, which Kim’s bill does.

“For some people, they will choose to end their life and others will not. And that’s completely fine. But we are talking the last six months. This is about shortening some quite horrible deaths.”

‘I don’t want our society to go down this route’

There is, however, steadfast and long-standing opposition, made up of MPs like Conservative Harriett Baldwin whose own father was handed a death sentence by doctors, only to recover.

“I think it’s very difficult to say definitively that someone is going to die within the next six months,” she said.

“From a personal point of view, I had an experience with my own father who was basically decreed to be almost dead and lived for another 20 years…

“He made it through. He lived to see his grandchildren grow up. And we’re so blessed that we had him for those extra 20 years.

“So, medically, ethically, legally, there are so many issues that I am not comfortable with and I don’t want our society to go down this route. And that’s why I shall vote against on the 29th.”

For the many who are still undecided though, the next few days are critical.

High-level interventions from Cabinet figures and angry headlines about splits at the top may sway opinion at the margins but what sets votes like this apart is that they are not won or lost in the corridors of power.

For once, it’s quiet voices, gentle politics and personal reflections that will dictate what Westminster does.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

Two Britons are believed to be among more than a dozen people missing after a boat sank in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.

The yacht, called Sea Story, had 44 people on board, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew.

Authorities are searching for 16 people, including 12 foreign nationals and four Egyptians, the governor of the Red Sea region said, adding that 28 other people had been rescued.

Preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the vessel, capsizing it within about five minutes, governor Amr Hanafi said.

“Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape,” he added in a statement.

The people who were rescued only suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scrapes with none needing hospital treatment.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”

The foreign nationals aboard the 34-metre-long vessel, owned by an Egyptian national, included Americans, Belgians, British, Chinese, Finns, Germans, Irish, Poles, Slovakians, Spanish, and Swiss.

Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits before the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March, according to officials.

The four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht was part of a multi-day diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam following warnings about rough weather.

Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.

The boat had left Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.

Some survivors had been airlifted to safety on a helicopter, officials said.

The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.

According to its maker’s website, the Sea Story was built in 2022.

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The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.

The organisation had advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.

Some tourist companies have stopped or limited operations on the Red Sea due to the potential dangers from conflicts in the region.

Davina McCall has said her short-term memory is “a bit remiss” as she recovers from brain tumour surgery.

Speaking from her bed, the visibly emotional TV presenter posted a short video updating her Instagram followers on her condition, saying it had been a “mad” time.

She expressed an “enormous heartfelt thank you” to people who had messaged her after she revealed this month she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.

Looking bright, but with a visibly bruised left eye, McCall said: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss.

“But that is something I can work on, so I’m really happy about that. I’m writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe.”

She added: “It’s been mad, and it’s just really nice to be back home, I’m on the other side.”

In a message posted with the video, she reiterated her thanks for all the support she has received, adding: “Had a great night’s sleep in my own bed. Have a couple of sleeps during the day which keeps my brain clear… Slowly, slowly…”

When she first shared her diagnosis, she said chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.

The 57-year-old star said support from her fans had “meant the world”.

She said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by her partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and her stepmother, Gabby, who she calls mum.

Becoming tearful, the presenter said: “I’d quickly like to say big up the stepmums. I don’t really say thank you to Gabby enough. She’s been an amazing rock my whole life.”

McCall was estranged from her birth mother, Florence McCall, who died in 2008.

With a catch in her voice, McCall went on: “I’ve got a massive dose of vitamin G – I’m just really grateful. I’ve always been really lucky in my life, but I feel unbelievably grateful right now. So, thanks for everything, all of you.

“I’m on the mend, I’m resting and sleeping loads and I feel really good. I’m just very lucky.”

Stars including presenter Alison Hammond, singer Craig David and radio host Zoe Ball quickly shared their delight at the positive update.

McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.

She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, the most recent being ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.

Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.

She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.